Sir David Attenborough was among the guests to greet Rosamund Kidman-Cox, editor of BBC Wildlife magazine, at a surprise party held in her honour last week, writes Ruth Addicott.
The dinner was organised by BBC Magazines to celebrate her long-standing reign as editor. Kidman-Cox joined the title in 1980 when it was called Wildlife and became editor in 1981.
Kidman-Cox, who is based in Bristol, was lured up to London on the pretence of an important business meeting, but when she opened the door of 32 Craven Street – a London Blue Plaque house where German poet and essayist Heinrich lived – she was greeted by a room full of past and present colleagues. One said: “She was dumb-founded.” In a speech, BBC Magazines managing director Peter Phippen praised her commitment. “Each day, Roz cycles off to get all her staff their sandwich lunches,” he said. “She’s been known to bring her bike up on the train to London to save the magazine the cost of a taxi from Paddington. Her enthusiasm is infectious.
“She is said never to get ill – put down to her strange diet of garlic for breakfast and Rolling Rock for dinner. In January, Roz took what I’m told was her first ever break of more than a couple of days in succession – escorting a group of readers to Antarctica.”
Ruth Addicott
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